Farm, Food, Fresh poster
On Wednesday, March 1, Hundred Acre, an indoor urban farm housed in the Century City redevelopment zone, will host “Farm, Food, Fresh,” a fundraising event meant to celebrate the farm’s one-year partnership with Feeding American Eastern Wisconsin. A variety of culinary partners—who are also customers of Hundred Acre—will use the farm’s hydroponically-grown salad blend and large leaf basil. Such restaurants as Fuel Café, BelAir Cantina and Story Hill BKC have all signed on to create a series of small-plate options for attendees. Other refreshments will be provided by the likes of Good City Brewing and Soul Brew Kombucha, among others.
According to Chris Corkery, the owner and CEO of Hundred Acre, a partnership between his farm, a for-profit endeavor, and the non-profit Feeding America makes perfect sense, as both entities are trying to tackle food insecurity in the greater Milwaukee region. Corkery notes that, through their partnership with Feeding America, Hundred Acre grew, harvested, and distributed nearly 20,00 fresh salads “to those most in need in our surrounding communities” in 2022. This, according to Corkery, was “unprecedented, as the majority of fresh, healthy greens historically spoil by the time they make it to food banks across the nation.”
Yet Hundred Acre, with their indoor growing operations, is now able to get fresh greens to Feeding America throughout the year. “The fundraiser,” Corkery adds, “is an effort to expand upon that program where we can grow and serve more local fresh food to those most in need in 2023.”
The fundraiser should also be seen as a celebration of Hundred Acre’s continued existence. Indoor farming does not have the best track record in Milwaukee; the fact that Hundred Acre is reaching more and more customers should be seen as a positive step in the evolution of the field. And the March 1 event suggest the types of partnerships needed to make such a system of farming viable. Relationships between the farm and both food banks and higher-end restaurants suggests the types of networks needed to grow the demand for local produce in Milwaukee. For Corkery, the growth of such networks may allow Hundred Acre to open a second farm, one that “creates more jobs, more hands-on education, and an extensive product line of year-round leafy green growing.”
Tickets to the “Farm, Food, Fresh” event include eight dish samples that feature Hundred Acre produce. Attendees will also receive a special screening of Grow with Us, a documentary that tells the story of the urban farm. Every dollar raised at the event will go directly to Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin. For more details, see: feedingamericawi.org/acre.
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